AsianFin -- Cambricon Technologies, a Chinese AI chipmaker, has seen its stock price surge nearly tenfold over the past two years, fueled by speculation that it could challenge Nvidia in China’s fast-growing AI market.

Founded in 2016 by brothers Chen Yunji and Chen Tianshi, Cambricon designs AI chips for cloud servers, edge devices, and data centers. Its shares are currently trading at a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio exceeding 4,000—dramatically higher than Nvidia’s ratio of under 60.

Analysts attribute the valuation spike to strong domestic demand for AI technologies and Beijing’s push to cultivate an independent AI ecosystem.

Cambricon is reportedly developing the Siyuan 690 chip, which follows the Siyuan 590 series released in 2023 and is expected to approach the performance levels of Nvidia’s H100. The company’s founders have backgrounds at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, reinforcing its technical credentials.